Alice rediscovers Wonderland
by acinematicsunrise
Summary: On Alice Liddell's 21st birthday, a strange rabbit leads her on the adventure of a lifetime. What she doesn't know...is that she's lived this adventure before, exactly 10 years ago, and the inhabitants of Wonderland aren't as welcoming as you would think.


_"Sweet sweet Alice. Won't you come back for us? Alice...Alice...Alllliiiiceee"_

Alice Liddell's eyes opened wide to her sister standing above her, shaking her shoulders as she tried to awake Alice from her slumber. She blinked her eyes sleepily, reaching up her hands and rubbing her tired eyes.

"I was having the strangest dream" She said, looking around her bedroom.

Alice felt extremely dissoriented as she peered around her room, feeling almost as if she had been shaken right out of reality.

"You're always having strange dreams. Come on then, breakfast is on the table. You best hurry up or you'll be late for your shift " Prima said to her sister, shaking her head as she walked out the door.

Alice ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, resting her face in the palms of her hands. Her sister Prima was never one to enjoy Alice's foolish daydreams, she often grew angry with Alice when she mentioned her dreams or thoughts of otherworldly things. Alice threw her covers off of her body, dangling her legs off of the bed and sliding her feet into her big fuzzy blue slippers. It suddenly occured to Alice that today was her twenty first birthday, and Pri hadn't bothered to remember. She grumbled under her breath as she stepped into her closet, rummaging through piles of clothes to find a decent outfit.

She decided to go with her absolute favourite outfit; this consisted of a short light blue dress, a pair of white tights, and a pair of black combat boots. Alice brushed out her long blonde hair, softy curling the ends with her fingers. The last element of her birthday outfit was a thin black headband that she slid into place, holding back the hair from her face. She examined herself in the mirror, smiling and nodding as she spun in front of it. She grabbed her black messenger bag off the chair planted in front of her makeup vanity, and headed out the door.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Bithday to you. Happy Birthday dear Alice, Happy Birthday to you!" Prima sang as Alice entered the kitchen. "You were taking ages in there I thought I was gonna have to eat this myself" She said, placing a cupcake in front of Alice as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Cheers Pri. It's lovely" Alice said with a smile. She kissed her sister on the cheek and took a bite of the brightly coloured pink cupake. Alice was truly pleased that her sister actually remembered her birthday, making Alice feel more at ease about the long day ahead of her.

"It was delicious, but I've really gotta go. I'll see you tonight? Dinner at 6?" Alice asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she headed out the door.

It was a cold and rainy autumn day in London; the streets were littered with fallen leaves and busy people rushing to get to work. Alice hugged her jacket as she walked to work, trying to keep the cold air from touching her skin. The breeze blew up a pile of leaves into the air, brushing them against Alice's windblown cheeks. She shivered and carried on her way, trying to make it into work before her boss realized she was late.

The small tea shoppe was empty as Alice entered through the door, not a customer in sight. She kept her head low as she headed to the back room of the shoppe. She hung up her jacket and her bag, turning to her cubby and tying a small white apron around her waist. She gathered her hair in her hands and pulled it all to one side of her shoulder, sliding a thin rubberband around her thick golden locks.

"I know I'm late, I'm sorry" Alice said as she left the backroom. Her boss was standing with hish ands on his hips, tapping his cheap loafer on the floor. "You know I'll let it slide just because it's your birthday Miss Liddell, but this needs to stop" He said, throwing a towel over his shoulder. Alice nodded and smiled halfheartidly, feeling guilty for always letting Jack down. She sighed and began to prepare the many different blends of teas for the day. Customers came and went over the next few hours, some were kind and others were harsh. Alice was getting frustrated with those who insisted on being rude to her, even when she appologized over a hundred times. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was going flat, it was obvious that she was frazzled.

"What the hell is that?!" Jack shouted, dropping a tea cup as he emerged from the back room. Alice turned her head quickly to look at the shock on Jack's face, following his eyes to the opened door of the shoppe. Her eyes widened as a small white rabbit hopped inside, making itself quite at home as it sniffed around the shoppe. Jack grabbed a broom from the cupboard beside the back room, holding it tightly in his hands as he prepared to dispose of the animal. "Jack don't you dare!" Alice shouted, stepping in front of the frightened man. "I'll take care of it..put that thing down would you? You look like a nutter" She said, placing a hand on her hip. Jack flushed a shade of pink, clumsily putting the broom back in the supply cupboard.

Alice walked carefully over to the small white bunny, being cautious not to startle it. She bent down and gently scooped the rabbit up into her arms, stroking it's head as she craddled it. "be back in a few. I'm gonna release it in the park" She whispered, taking the bunny outside into the chilly air. St. James park was only a few short minutes from Alice's job; she figured it would be a suitable place to bring the rabbit. Once inside the park, Alice walked with the bunny curled up in her arms to a clearing encircled by a group of weeping willows.

Before she had the chance to put him down, the rabbit reached out it's paw and scratched Alice's arm. She winced and dropped the rabbit on the grass, reaching for the throbbing scratch on her arm with her free hand. The rabbit had now begun to hop off, leaving Alice behind to whine about her wound. Just as she decided it was time for her to go, the fluffy white rabbit turned back to look at her. The two stood quiet in the park, staring at one another for a long while. Suddenly, the rabbit winked at Alice. Alice blinked repeatidly, unsure of the reality of what she saw. She gasped loudly as the rabbit took off running, causing the curious girl to follow behind him.

"Wait!" She shouted, running through the clearing after the speedy little creature.

Alice stopped as she reached the end of the clearing, from what she could see the rabbit was gone. She made her way over to the last tree in the circle of weeping willows, examining a large hole in the base of the tree.

"this is ridiculous" She said, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her hands.

Alice turned her foot to walk away, only to get her bulky combat boot stuck in a twisted root of the weeping willow. As she tried to pull away, the root seemingly pulled her back, sending her hurdling down the rabbit hole head fell into a pit of nothingness, her big blue eyes searching in the darkness for a sign of life.

"Am I dead?" She asked no one in particular.

Alice heard nothing in return, leading her to conclude that she was in fact, dead. She lifted her arms to her face, burrying her head in her cold trembling hands. Alice had little time to sulk, for she hit the ground suddenly. Her body lay limp on the cold floor, her mind was clouded and her vision blurred.

"Where am I?" She asked, blinking repeatidly as she tried her best to clear her vision.

Once again she recieved no answer in return. Alice slowly stood up, brushing off leaves and debris from her dress. She gazed around the small circle room she had fallen into, utterly confused as to what was happening to her. She scratched her head as she contemplated the reality of what was going on.

"I must've hit my head on that tree trunk and now I'm in a coma. Yes. That's exactly what this is" She said, running her fingers through her head to check for painful lumps.

"You're not in a coma you blithering idiot" Said a voice in the distance.

Alice cocked her head, her eyes frantically scanning the dimly lit room for the source of this disembodied voice. She suddenly saw that same little white rabbit, leaning against a pillar on the other side of the room. Alice tried to speak, but her utter shock got the best of her. She slid her body down the length of the wall until she was sitting down, her back pressed against the cold stone behind her.

"I don't understand. How are you speaking to me? You're a bunny" She said sharply.

"Oi..I'm a rabbit... Not a 'bunny'. Do I look like a child to you?" He asked her in a deep monotoned voice.

Alice shooked her head, her mouth hanging open about a mile wide. The rabbit made his way towards Alice, carefully hopping over to her trembling body.

"You've got a lot to see, Alice. You need to come with me. And do close your mouth, girl. It's quite rude" He said, turning up his nose at the gawking girl.


End file.
